In Memoriam

We Remember

Although she had been educated by Adrian Dominicans throughout 12 years of schooling at St. Mary’s in Royal Oak, Michigan, it took a chance visit to Adrian for Barbara Hubbard to realize her call to religious life.

During Barbara’s senior year, she was invited to a fashion show at Siena Heights College (now University), and prior to the event was introduced to Sister Mary Edmund Harrison, the Mistress of Novices. As it turned out, Barbara never went over to the show; when her companions headed over to the college, she stayed behind, deep in conversation with Sister Edmund, and by the time the others returned to collect her for the drive home, she had decided to enter the Congregation..

“I am not worried because I know that my God will walk with me through this as He has all my life. We will take this one day at a time.”

Those words, written by Sister Rose Celeste O’Connell in her autobiography the day after she was diagnosed with cancer, sum up her attitude about not only her battle with the disease but toward the rest of her life’s challenges as well.

Sister Rose Celeste was born Mary Ann Theresa O’Connell on January 10, 1939, in Chicago, Illinois, to Thomas Eugene and Edna Bernadette (Dion) O’Connell. Three children came into the family: a son, Thomas, who died soon after birth; Mary Ann; and Elinor, born when Mary Ann was eight years old.

The extended family on both Thomas’s and especially Edna’s sides were quite close, and gatherings with relatives were commonplace. But both Thomas and Edna worked as Mary Ann was growing up, and as a result she spent much of her time either with older adults, especially her paternal grandmother, or alone.

I am very grateful to our loving God Who has caused great things to happen in the day-to-day little things of life.

My life is full. My feline friends, human friends and a vast ocean with beautiful sunsets are just a few of my many blessings. How I treasure each day and the gifts that God has bestowed on me throughout my life. How can I ever thank God for all that he has done in my life!

So concluded the autobiography written in 2001 by Sister Judith Ann (Judy) Seefeld who at the time was living in Monterey, California, and, although retired from her teaching ministry, was living an active life as a hospice volunteer.

Judy was born on July 20, 1939, in Pontiac, Michigan, to James and Charlotte (Higgins) Seefeld. James, originally from Pleasant Ridge, Michigan, owned his own refrigeration service business. He and Charlotte, from Clawson, Michigan, met and married after high school.

On March 6, 1943, having received the application of a not-quite 17-year-old Rosemary Ferguson to enter the Congregation, Mother Gerald Barry wrote a note of reply that included this sentence:

I know that you have a little idea of the good things that you can do for Him, but you have no idea of those greater things that you can work in Him and through Him and for Him with that special grace that he gives to a young girl who offers herself as a handmaid in the same manner as did Mary, His glorious Mother and ours.

While Mother Gerald of course could not know what lay in Rosemary Ferguson’s future as an Adrian Dominican, in hindsight her words seem especially prescient. Just twenty-five years later, Sister Rosemary would be called upon to lead the Congregation through tumultuous times, and did so with God’s “special grace” very much upon her.

Our Adrian Dominican cemetery with its circular headstones is a beautiful place of rest for women who gave their lives in service to God—and a peaceful place for contemplation and remembrance.

We will post memorial reflections on our faithfully departed Sisters and Associates. If you would like to reflect on a Sister or Associate who has gone before us, please send your reflections – no more than 500 to 600 words – to
.